Mistaken
by FuntomKitten
Summary: William T. Spears finds himself taken with a young man he's met while out looking for his infuriating employee, Grell Sutcliff. Little does he know, his first crush is hiding quite the unpleasant secret under those brunette locks and round glasses. William x Butler Grell with momentary implied Madam Red x Grell. Rated T for language, kissing scenes, and slight gore.
1. Chapter 1

**Mistaken  
**Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language  
Disclaimer! I do NOT own the characters, the series, or, honestly, anything in this fanfiction other than the scenarios that take place.

William grimaced and let an annoyed sigh slip from his lips, fed up beyond belief with his coworker. He was used to Grell skipping work. He did it often enough, it might have been part of a routine for him. _Sleep in like a lazy ass, make sure your ass is as high in the air as it can be when William T. Spears is forced to step inside and get you up, and proceed to cling onto his arm with a vicious grip as you follow him to work, a merry grin on your face all the while._ William swore Grell had to have this ridiculous plan written down somewhere..

Adjusting his glasses, William picked up his pace, eyes gazing down upon the streets of London as he hopped across rooftops at an inhuman speed. This time, however, Grell would have to receive more severe punishment than a few stern words (which he ignored) and a smack across the head (which he whined nonstop about), no, Grell Sutcliff had been absent a record 15 days, and the department was now requiring William to hunt him down. With Grell's psychotic tendencies, very visibly serious death threats to the rookies, and viciously evil death scythe, they had been more than a little concerned when they learned he'd up and left without notifying anybody. William had gone to check his home, and, surprisingly, he wasn't lounging there. In fact, it looked as though he'd been gone quite a few days, from the state the rooms were in.

So, William had been sent out to search for him, much to his disdain. Honestly, if they were so disturbed by his disappearance, surely they'd be willing to go after him themselves.. But it was a direct order from his superiors. William couldn't just ignore it. No, he wasn't Grell Sutcliff, he was a better worker than that.

Coming to a stop when he reached the busy center of London, William carefully hopped down into an empty alleyway. He'd have to use the streets here, it was far too risky to hop across the rooftops when there were so many humans milling about.. Sighing as he straightened his coat and adjusted his glasses, William nodded slightly to himself and stepped out onto the main sidewalk, starting to walk again, keeping a careful eye on the humans around him. As though he'd be difficult to spot..not with all that re-

William's thoughts were cut off as something slammed into him, knocking him to the ground and causing his glasses to fall onto the concrete. Despite himself, William let out a weak-sounding gasp, damning himself for it even though it was justified. The Something on top of him's weight shifted several times before he heard someone fumbling around, and the cool metal of his glasses reached his face once again rather suddenly, and he turned to see his attacker with a slightly annoyed sigh.

The man was small, perhaps as much, if not more so, as Grell was. He had a round, very cute face, accentuated further by his dark brown hair tied back into a low ponytail with a plush pink ribbon. His wide green eyes darted around as he continued to look utterly apologetic and distraught, obviously quite sorry for knocking William over. His mouth, slightly parted, showed straight, white teeth, though he seemed to try not to show them when he spoke.

_'He's just like a mouse.'_ William couldn't help but think, an unfamiliar warmth rising to his chest.

No. Oh, no.

_Ba-dum, ba-dum._

Was this...was this what they called a crush? Love, even? He knew Grell had always ranted about "Love at First Sight" and similar topics, and William had listened closely even if he hadn't made it obvious, as he would have liked to know if they were true, but he had never thought such things would happen to him.

Still, here he was, face slightly flushed, heart beating heavily as the feminine man in front of him continued to squirm and stare at him pleadingly. William managed to compose himself after a moment, closing his eyes and clearing his throat to get his words straight in his head. "I'm perfectly fine, sir..but would you mind getting up off of me?"

William opened his eyes once again as the man squeaked another apology and stood, still kneeling next to William. William took the hand that was offered to him and let himself be helped up, brushing off his clothing and adjusting his glasses. He saw the man nod when he was proven to be alright, kneeling back down to gather something. The brunette noticed with a slight wince that he was putting together what he assumed to be purchases from shopping, several bags worth, and he went over to gather the items near another bag.

"Ah!" The small man called after him. "Ah, sir, you don't h-have to, I've got it.." The voice sounded somewhat familiar, yet entirely unfamiliar at the same time. His voice was high-pitched, though fairly quiet, and his anxiety was quite obvious in every word he spoke.

William simply shook his head, walking back over when the bag was gathered. "..It's no trouble, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I'd hate for you to be stolen from.." Thinking for a moment, William came up with a plan. Considering his search plan hadn't worked out so far, and the fact that Grell could not only move nearly twice as fast as him when threatened but could also be anywhere in London, it wouldn't hurt.."Allow me to help you carry them, Mister.."

The man seemed immediately flustered, panicked even, a dark blush adorning his face as he ducked his head, hands twitching nervously and tightening on the bag in his hands. "I-I...I-If you want to you may..I..my name..It..I-Isn't important.." He stammered, shaking his head a bit, presumably to try to collect himself. "I'm only a butler..So..I-I'm hardly ever called by name anyways..So..You can just call me..Mister or whatever you prefer."

William raised an eyebrow at him, thinking for a moment before smiling slightly as the man seemed to calm down, no longer shaking or looking terribly scared, though he did still have an ever-present shy look. So unlike Grell..William found it adorable. "Souris? Would it be alright if I called you Souris?"

Owlish eyes blinked up at William, a thin eyebrow raising slightly before a smile broke across the smaller man's face, his eyes lighting up like the emeralds they had the color of. "..You speak French, then?"

William shrugged. "Only some basic phrases...I have a coworker that goes off into rants in French if he gets irritated, and I thought it would be useful to know the language, and see if it calms him down more..I haven't had the chance to try it, though." William explained calmly, watching as the man let out a small giggle.

"So you're going to be calling me a mouse?"

"...You resemble one. Not like the revolting rodents that tend to roam Whitechapel, though..The way mouses are drawn in picture books." William blushed lightly, forcing the word which he would never use to describe anything before he met this man. "...Cute."

Souris's face lit up a rosy color, nodding as he reached his hand out for William. "..If..we're exchanging compliments, you're quite handsome. Souris is fine..I love it. And you are?"

"..William. William T. Spears." He offered, entwining his hand with the younger man's, though he was quite inexperienced with any physical contact. Thankfully, Souris didn't seem to mind, squeezing his hand lightly as he led William toward the manor.

"Thank you, William..The manor is a bit far away."

"I don't mind. I've not much to do, and you look like you'd need some help carrying everything."

Souris shrugged lightly. "..I'm used to it..My madam isn't a slave driver by any means, but I am her butler, so I do have to do quite a bit of everything for her...though.." The man bit his lip a bit, and William's eyebrow rose in his own show of concern.

"Though..?"

"I hardly ever get praise. Usually it's just a slap to the face, but, I do deserve it..I'm..incompetent beyond words and horribly unskilled at anything." Souris admitted, glancing up at William. "I'm earnestly surprised she still allows me to work for her.."

William could only stare at the smaller man, a horrible feeling of deja vu rising in his stomach. That couldn't be the way Grell thought of him, could it? No, he was always smiling, flirting, no matter what, there was no way he could be sad..

But, with a sickening twinge of guilt, he realized Souris had been just a moment ago, too. William honestly couldn't remember the last time anyone truly praised Grell, and he couldn't just deflect all the harsh words and actions like a human shield for his heart... That couldn't be why he had run away without a word.

But William had a feeling that what he was telling himself was all too wrong.

========================================================================

And that's chapter 1! More of a prologue or introduction than anything, but I still quite like it regardless.

If you aren't able to guess, Souris is Grell in his butler disguise. And souris does translate to mouse in French. I thought William would probably be able to be a casanova as such, but only for a moment.

**Now, as far as updates go, I will try to update this fanfiction fairly quickly! As** I write this, I have about half of this story actually done and completely written up. Due to this, I will try to update every day or every other day, depending on how quickly I am able to write upcoming chapters. As I only have one other end-of-year test coming up in about three weeks, I doubt school will get in the way of my writing, though writer's block is a different beast entirely. The first few chapters will almost definitely be updated within a day of each other, but I might start leaving a day's space when the story begins to pick up. I can't give you guys a cliffhanger and not use it to my advantage. ;)

I hope you guys all enjoyed, please rate and review if you have the time! Those are the two biggest things you can do to encourage me!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language

Souris hadn't stayed sad for long. They got back to the manor rather quickly, as the small man seemed to walk quite fast for someone who seemed so prone to paranoia. William found himself struggling to keep up, especially once Souris started chatting casually with him, talking simply about a party he'd had to accompany his mistress to several days ago. William would have to think before he answered, not wanting to offend the man or embarrass himself, and discovered something new about himself: it was very hard for William T. Spears to think whilst walking quickly to follow somebody through an area he didn't know. They must have been outside of London, then..

Before William really realized it, they were standing on the steps of an elegant manor, and Souris was moving to unlock the door. "My mistress is at work." Souris explained, glancing at William over his shoulder. "She's a doctor. Usually she just gets up early in the morning and will be home around dinnertime, but she's said she'll be working late tonight..So feel free to stay as long as you like." William noted the small smile the man gave him, nodding to whatever had made him give William an expectant look. Souris opened the door only a moment later, leading William inside.

"Most of this seems to be groceries.." William observed, looking inside the bag he'd been carrying. Souris nodded.

"It is. I could make you some tea and you could relax a bit..It won't take me long to sort everything out."

"Then it won't matter if you make me tea or not. Do you have a library here?"

Souris nodded, smiling widely at William. "Up the stairs, turn left, second door to the right. Do make yourself at home." William nodded once again, heading up and finding the room with only a bit of difficulty. He noticed as soon as he entered the library that it was a room Grell would certainly love. A plush red carpet was spread to accommodate a sitting area in the center of the room, containing two deep red couches and a mahogany table between them. Bookshelves lined the walls around the fairly small room, all of the varying covers housed snugly together by the same wood as the table.

Stepping further inside, William inspected the table, noticing several books strewn across its surface. Though he knew he really shouldn't snoop, he remembered then that Souris had told him to make himself at home..And he would read the books in order to sort them due to OCD. Yes, that was a wonderful excuse, absolutely believable. So, William picked up the book at the top of the pile, noticing a slip of paper wedged between its pages. Flipping to the page, he carefully plucked the paper out of its place to examine it. On it, written with a very fine red pen, were various notes about the book. Though, as he flipped the paper over, William noticed one line that alarmed him immediately.

_'William would love this.'_

Now, that note wouldn't be particularly disturbing out of context. There were plenty of other people in London named William- it seemed to be about the third most common name- but William was absolutely sure that was Grell's handwriting. Messy yet elegant, childish yet feminine, and: written in red. That had to be Grell's handwriting. But why would Grell have been here?

"Perhaps he's posing as Souris's mistress?" No, he doubted that. "Or is a friend of hers?" While still a possibility, he also doubted that. He'd never talked about being friends with any humans, let alone nobles.

Then why was this here?

It struck Will like a freight train when he realized the answer, tucking the paper back into the book and dropping it, heading out to look through the rooms, rather furious. Grell had to be hiding here somewhere! That stupid, annoying fool had probably snuck out to lounge around nobles' homes and enjoy the luxuries, and no, William would not doubt it from him!

He was in the middle of slamming the seventh door he'd checked when his wrist was grabbed rather suddenly, causing him to turn and instinctively summon his scythe. To his relief, though his anger was not soothed, Souris was there, holding William's wrist firmly but not tightly. Though, William noticed with a slight frown, Souris had flinched when he'd summoned his scythe, as if he expected to be struck..

The suspicion only raised further as the butler spoke, voice soft and nervous, albeit coaxing. "..William, you're making quite a ruckus..you scared the dickens out of me, whatever is the matter?" Souris reached up to stroke William's cheek with his long fingers, and William found all of his anger melting away. He wasn't really scolding him at all..not like he would expect a mouse like Souris would.

"Nothing. My apologies..I lost my temper and forgot where I was for a moment." His answer was met with a slight, loving smile, and a pair of lips brushing against his cheek. When Souris next spoke, it was a calm whisper, obviously intended to relax William.

"It's alright...You're okay here. Come..I think you do need some tea."

William was uncharacteristically quick to oblige.

======================================================================  
Oh my, what will William do with this newfound information? Hopefully Grell will manage to keep him calm a while longer, hm?  
Unfortunately this is the awkward stage of the story where things are still going a bit slowly. There will be another chapter out tomorrow, in which the drama continues to build!

As always, rate and review if you have the time! It encourages me to work harder on getting these chapters out for you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, good day, lovelies! 3


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language

William had somehow ended up staying over for the night. He had gone down with Souris, who had prepared dinner for him on top of the tea he'd already offered. William hadn't argued, eating and ending up feeling rather content, thoughts of Sutcliff pushed to the very far corner of his mind.

Souris had sat next to him while he ate, talking quietly with him and kissing his cheek quite often. William had eventually given in and let out a soft chuckle, a rosy blush immediately covering Souris's face as he did. "You seem to be quite affectionate, don't you?"

Souris's blush deepened, and he glanced down at the ground. "I..um..sorry..I couldn't help.." His stammering was shushed by William's black-gloved finger at his lips, and Souris looked up expectantly. William could feel his face flush, but he simply watched down, moving his finger as he mustered up all his courage, only praying he won't do something wrong. Leaning forward, he carefully placed his lips against Souris's for a chaste but very pleasant kiss.

Souris squeaked in surprise only when William pulled away, and William tried not too focus too hard on the fact that the smaller man was gazing at him with incredibly loving eyes, as if he had been hoping for that for a long while. "..It's quite alright. I wouldn't mind..being..an item with you." William could only mumble, and it felt like the words moved themselves out of William's mouth, causing the brunette to freeze as his mind caught up. He'd just asked Souris out. He'd said it aloud. There was no taking it back now. _No, William, you've got to get in control of your emotions now. You can't let a sweet little giggle control you like that.._

"..I'd be glad to." Souris replied with a warm smile. _But there is no taking it back now. _William thought as he showed him a small smile of his own, and Souris's face flushed a color very similar to Grell's head of hair.

Thus, William had ended up staying the night after some convincing from Souris, though he hadn't been told of any prize of any sort to look forward to. That was a shame, he always heard Ronald teasing some girls to come out on dates because they'd get rewarded. _Oh, really, thinking as if you're a lady now! Sutcliff has really gotten to you.._ William's brain chastised once they registered the stray thoughts. Still, he'd agreed to it, and it was roughly half past midnight when William awoke, risen by voices outside in the hall.

"Grell," A woman's voice called, causing the reaper to immediately but silently sit up and slip his glasses on. "Grell, are you here? Are you ready? We don't have time for this.." She sounded annoyed and rushed, as if there was something they had to do very quickly..William's curiosity was peaked. What in the hell could they possibly be doing that had to be so rushed? The brunette's teeth were grit as he continued to think. Since Grell was there, it most likely was something coinciding with the reapers' To Die lists, or tampering with souls in one manner or another.

"Oh, come on, it isn't like I'm playing hide and seek!" Grell's familiar voice whined, and William crept over to peek through a crack Souris had left in the guest room door. "I was getting ready~. Calm down, Madam, there's no need to be so uppity..we're almost done. We have two left, we can skip a few nights if we want.." The redheaded reaper tried to convince the woman, and, surprising and disturbing to William was how very similar it sounded to him trying to weasel his way out of paperwork.

Grell was out there for sure, unfortunately familiar. He was dressed in the uniform he always wore as a reaper, his black trench coat down to his knees and his black tie ever-present. It grated at William's nerves to know that the man could have looked entirely normal, were it not for the flaming head of hair and eye-catching eyeglasses and makeup. Couldn't he just try to blend in for once?

"..Only two?" The woman, who was sadly out of William's current peripheral view, asked hesitantly. "Only two. " She registered a moment later. "We..We've almost done it.." Grell gave the woman a soft, sympathetic smile at this, and William saw a woman entirely in red lunge forward and embrace the reaper. "We've almost done it, Grell! The terror in everyone's hearts has stopped these wretched creatures from trying to become the lowest of the low! There's only two left!"

Grell let out a soft, comforting, and above all _evil_ laugh, and William swore it was the most disturbing thing he had ever heard. "We're so close to our goal. Nobody will ever again mock you with their shallow treatment of what you can't have. The weakest unborn children will never have to suffer what I suffered.." William made a mental note to ask the flamboyant reaper what that meant later. "We've almost eradicated them." Grell whispered to his madam, just loud enough for William to hear. "Let's go, now. Jack has work to do."

His madam gave him a determined nod, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips before turning to leave, Grell on her heels. William himself was too shocked by the fact that Grell had just kissed a woman to even think about going after him, and his mind was still reeling once they had left. Jack the Ripper, he remembered hearing about that..The serial killer who targeted prostitutes, instilling fear in the hearts of the citizens of London. The uncatchable murderer…and for a very good, obvious reason.

Grell and that woman were Jack the Ripper.

"That's why.." William whispered to himself. That's why Grell was here and snooping through her belongings. That's why Grell had disappeared from the Library. And for once, William had no idea what his next course of action should be. If they were correct, and they only had two left to kill, then it wouldn't be long, right? William could wait for this whole mess to be over with, then confront Sutcliff. While it was not his ideal plan, as he would much rather stomp the two out now, he didn't want to get into a fight with the crazed man when he had no idea what mental state the reaper was in, and he would much prefer the offices not lose a worker or a manager over a handful of souls.

And, at that, a sudden thought crossed through his mind.

Did Souris know?

==============================================================================  
Oh dear, William, you've gotten yourself quite tied up in this situation now, haven't you?  
I actually love writing flustered William. My inner Grell just bursts with happiness and the unbearable sensation to "D'awww!" I also like the idea that William would chastise himself to always think of a lover first unless he was in the middle of work, hence that last sentence.  
**Also, VERY EARLY LACK-OF-UPDATE NOTICE: I'm not sure whether I'll be able to update this story Friday, April 26****th****. I'm going on a trip that day and won't be back home until fairly late. If I'm utterly exhausted I will probably not upload a chapter once I get back home. If I do feel in the mood, however, I will post it that evening. I doubt I'll put up two chapters in one day because of that, because that day shall be the point in the story where everything gets quite interesting..And I think it would be much better to keep you guys waiting a day than to throw it all at you at once. ;)  
**_**  
**__And a couple of technical notes about the story (which you can entirely skip if you wish):  
I've had someone comment on how quickly I update. Believe it or not, I've learned from past mistakes and writing blocks, and, as a result, these chapters are all pre-written. Depending on what reviews/critique/etc I've gotten that day and how much time I actually have left in my day after schoolwork, I may just skim over a chapter to make sure it's all good, or I may edit it quite a bit just before posting it (as I did here). As I write this note (the day before I publish this chapter), I am in the midst of writing chapter 9 for this story! I made myself write out half of the story before I started posting chapters to make sure I still actually like it enough to finish it. And I do! I'm guessing this piece will not go over 15 chapters, but I can't give an exact number for the final chapter.  
Secondly, I had someone point out to me last chapter that I rushed a fair bit through William's thoughts, and quite honestly it links back to the fact that this is really the first story I've written through William primarily, and therefore I'm not very good at writing with him. I'm very used to writing Undertaker and Grell with each other and from each of their perspectives, and both of them tended to rush through their thoughts rather quickly in the scenarios I was writing with them , so I suppose that's leaked over to my William. So sorry for that!  
I do think he would think longer and harder than I've made him to be in the story thus far, but I do also think he'd be very sharp, causing him to think a bit faster than you usually see him as well. I'll review over the chapters as best I can to try and ease that, but you will have to bear with me in the respect that my view of William will be different than someone who writes with him very often. I will try to improve him, though.  
_

Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please rate and review if you have the time! I'll see you guys next time, as the plot continues to thicken!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language

William had gone to work the next morning, only expecting to check in before going to search for Sutcliff (which meant staying at the manor and searching the place thoroughly when he could) once again, but he found himself rather distracted as he stepped into his office. A pile of paperwork was waiting for him on his desk. William sighed in irritation, rubbing his temples. Wonderful, just wonderful..

It was well past midnight when he finally got to the bottom of the stack, almost every one about the Jack the Ripper case. He had to deploy a reaper on this case, since the souls had not been collected in these murders, and were "therefore performed by a demon" as the higher-ups concluded. Of course this was false, as William knew, but he figured he would smack Sutcliff over the head when he stopped his rampage and demand him to give the souls back to balance their records- the man had to be keeping them in that house if they were nowhere to be found, after all. So, William had every reason to go back to that manor, though it would have to wait for a more reasonable time, of course..

And there was something else to distract him. As William finished the last paper of the night, he noticed something poking out from under the stack he'd been subconsciously making with the finished papers- a small pink envelope, from the looks of it. Carefully sliding it out from under the trap, William lifted it up to the candle he was using as light to read. On the outside were three simple words, but slightly alarming to William.

_From Grell Sutcliff_

What on Earth could this be about? Had Grell seen him eavesdropping? Had Grell finally decided to send some notice as to why he was gone?

Taking a deep breath, William decided he wouldn't know until he read it, opening up the envelope and plucking out the letter that was inside. Noticing something else, he carefully pulled out a fountain pen, small but impeccably of good value. William was pleasantly surprised, but twice as curious. Opening up the letter, William read over it carefully, taking in every word.

_My Dearest William, _

_I'm sorry for not writing this to you sooner. I haven't had the time. I'd only like to inform you that I am safe, I am completing my work as best I can, and there is no need to come look for me. I'll bring my completed work to you as soon as is possible. _

_I'm afraid I can't tell you where I am or why for the moment, and this is the only way we can communicate, but you have my assurance that I'm alright and I will return soon._

_I can say I saw you and the butler together. You two are cute together. He's sweet, if not a little too fragile. Go after him._

_He wanted to get you a present, so I let him know you wanted a new pen. He hopes you like it._

_I'll return shortly._

Love, Grell

William found himself scowling at the letter. With all the contradicting Grell did in his writing, he might as well have been speaking in riddles. Encouraging him to pursue a relationship with Souris, then ending the letter off with Love. And the audacity to slip in that he'd had to tell Souris what he'd wanted, as if he should get some form of recognition for it! William really, truly did not like that reaper.

Though his suspicions were confirmed; Souris must have been in on the killings if he'd interacted with Grell, especially enough to know that Grell knew William. The scowl on his face deepened at this, wondering just how many times Grell had decided to call William handsome during their conversation, and wondering just how badly he'd have hurt Souris's feelings by doing so.

There was only one word in William's mind as he crumpled up the paper, throwing it into the bin.

"Scum."

Grell sighed softly to himself from where he had been standing outside of William's office door. So that's what Will thought of him. Not that it was entirely surprising - he'd figured as much for a long while now. But he had no idea it was really that severe..he thought he'd written that letter nicely..

Blinking away the tears that had formed in his eyes, Grell turned away and stalked through the hall purposefully. Of course, William had fallen for Souris, not Grell. They might as well have been opposites, and Grell wasn't sure what had made him think William might have liked Grell as well - stupidity was his best guess. But, he knew what he had to do now.

Grell had to go.

Souris was the one in charge now.

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A fairly short chapter in comparison to others, but, I thought we needed to emphasize something in this story.  
_**William really doesn't like Grell.**__  
_It isn't "Oh, he's a pain in the ass but he's _my _pain in the ass."  
No, it's more along the lines of "I absolutely despise that empty-headed fool for always getting in the way."  
I can imagine Will would get very fed-up with him after putting up with his ridiculousness for years, so, he would go by the knee-jerk reaction: Despise it, and therefore despise him.  
This kind of William is a bit painful for me to write as I love Grell so very much, but it creates wonderful, delicious drama!

_As always, rate and review if you have the time!_ :3


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language  
==================================================================================

William had headed out to the manor in the morning, his paperwork in tow. He would be damned if he wasn't about to start figuring this situation out. It was so odd, as if everything fit together in some way, but none of it fit in a logical sense. That was one of William's least favorite things, too. Everything had to be logical. That was the way the world all worked together, after all.

Lifting up his hand to knock on the door, William was rather surprised to find a woman answering it instead of his familiar butler. He noticed with a discreet shiver that it was the woman he'd seen with Grell several nights ago - half of Jack the Ripper. She did look like a woman Grell would like, if any, though..covered head-to-toe in red.

"Good day." William greeted politely, ignoring the look of slight disgust the woman gave him.

"..If you're a noble looking to wed I have no interest."

"Not at all, ma'am." William quickly interjected as the woman tried to close the door. She looked up at this, raising an eyebrow inquiringly. "..I'm here to speak to your butler, actually, if I may. I'm a friend of his."

"A friend of Grell's?" She asked, tilting her head. "Oh, you wouldn't happen to be William?"

"..I am." William asked, trying to ignore his curiosity. Perhaps she had two butlers? Everything else in this house seemed out of the ordinary, it wouldn't shock him..though few things did in the first place. "William T. Spears. Is he free to talk?"

"Certainly." The woman replied, stepping aside to let him in. "Well, I say that. He's been acting odd lately..moodier than usual, and zoning out quite a lot. I'm Angelina Durless..though you can call me Madam Red." She glanced at Will, giving him a knowing look. "And I know what he and you are, so you shouldn't try to fool me if you need him for work. He should be upstairs in the library."

William only nodded numbly, watching after her as she left. He sighed, deciding there was no helping it as he headed upstairs and towards the room he'd become quite familiar with. However, before he could reach it, he felt a slender pair of arms wrap around him from behind and an excited, soft squeal. "William!"

To the man's immense relief, it wasn't Sutcliff. He turned to see Souris smiling happily up at him, making himself smile pleasantly, though he could have sworn he saw a hint of sadness in the butler's eyes.

"You came to see me?" Souris asked excitedly, and William nodded, rather pleasantly surprised by the younger man's enthusiasm. "How sweet.." William had no complaints to a soft pair of lips meeting his own. His lover's. What a foreign, strange, absolutely wonderful sensation to William..

He simply followed Souris's lips as they pulled back, capturing them in another kiss, putting more effort into it. He smirked when he saw the move shocked the butler, pulling back and watching him. Souris seemed to get an idea, smiling up at him. "..Madam Red's given me the day off..So..Would you like to go on a date?"

"I'd be happy to." William nodded, smiling back at him. "..Wherever you'd like."

Souris grinned and gripped his hand tightly, leading him down the stairs once again.

Souris had led William out to town on foot, just as they'd gone to the manor their first meeting. Squeezing his lover's hand, the smaller man looked up as the brunette cleared his throat. "Ah..while we walk, I have a question."

"Yes? What is it?" The butler asked with a curious look, hardly seeking bothered at all. William glanced at him, staring a moment before looking ahead once again.

"Does your Madam have two butlers?"

Souris let out a soft laugh at this, nodding. "She does. Grell and I. You see, she favors Grell, but puts most of the work on me..I guess she just keeps him as a butler since he isn't a noble, and seeing him would be bad for her reputation.."

William nodded, looking back down at his little butler, relief filling him, though anger was also in its wake. "That, quite frankly, is ridiculous. She assumed I wanted to see Grell. Does she even regard you?"

Souris winced slightly, and William gave him an apologetic look for his angry outburst. "Well, she does, but..it's..kind of common knowledge in the household that you're Grell's boss. He's told us all sorts of stories, you see.."

"Stories?"

"..About you, and about work.." Souris explained, looking up at William. "That he fell in love with you but you never returned it, how you're always working, stuff like that.."

"I don't love him, Souris." He watched as Souris nodded, rather irritated that he'd been talked about behind his back.

"I know. You're my boyfriend after all, aren't you?"

William tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks, but based on his butler's giggle, it was certainly only him that had paid no mind to it.

Souris and William had spent the day together, getting back to the manor at sundown. William had excused himself to work on his paperwork, and Souris was more than happy to let him alone after practically being glued to his arm all day. William had heard footsteps outside the door as he finished up, Souris's voice calm and confident when he spoke- an odd change.

"..Mary Kelley will be tomorrow night, then?"

"Yes..she'll be the grand finale of sorts." His madam answered, an icy edge to her voice. "Tomorrow will be the bloodiest day of autumn, we'll be sure of that."

"..As is only natural, madam." He heard footsteps moving, and knew they had departed from the house. William really, really did not like letting serial killers roam around and do as they please with him so close by, but it was the best choice. Besides, he had a chance now. Getting up, he started checking every room, trying to be fast. If Sutcliff was with them to help, he might have a couple of hours at most to search, and the house was huge.

Unfortunately, his search didn't yield much. Some stupid little random possessions Sutcliff had, a few of the Records of the murder victims (which William made a mental note of the location of), and a couple of bloodstained shirts in the laundry.

Tired and more than a little irritated, William sighed and headed off to the guest bedroom he'd been provided to try and sleep off the stress, only able to do so when Souris silently crawled into bed with him in the middle of the night once he was cleaned up again.

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I tried to write out a full date for William and Grell, you guys. I tried so hard. It was damn near impossible to do it and have it not become annoyingly repetitive, as I imagine the entire day would consist of Grell going "Oh William look let's go do that!" and William nodding in response every time. Then I thought they might go dress shopping, but I honestly doubt Grell would do so in his butler disguise for fear of getting found out by it. It is entirely possible that I will go back and edit a date into this part (if it's after the completion of the story, I will add a temporary extra chapter to inform you guys), I just cannot find it in me right now. I am sorry. It's just as annoying to me as it probably is to you. ;^;

_Life lesson: Romance is extremely hard to write with quiet, stoic, normally emotionless men.  
_  
Still, rate and review guys! I assure you, you do not want to miss the next chapter. Things will get incredibly interesting..;)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language, Passionate Kisses, William T. Asshole makes an appearance.

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The next day felt like any other day in the past 300 years that William T. Spears had been working as a Shinigami. That is, without him being annoyed by Sutcliff. He'd spent the majority of the day locked up in his office, completing all the continuous work that seemed to come at him thanks to the Ripper. William sighed, incredibly glad this whole incident would be over after tonight. At eleven, William set aside his work - there were more important things to do now. Heading back to the manor that had become all-so-familiar to him, William was rather happy to find Souris there, looking like his same old self. He'd been asked to stay in the guest bedroom while they prepared for the night when he'd told them that he wasn't going to turn them in, and he complied without a word of argument.

William was, to his immense surprise, let out of his room by none other than Grell Sutcliff. Grell gave him a small, almost nervous smile as he stepped out of the room, and the only response he received was a half-hearted glare. Seeing this, Grell's smile faded entirely, his head bowing as he nodded to William. "..Sorry. I'll be back to work after tonight..promise." William merely nodded, turning to go wait in the library for them to return. Despite spending so much time there, he hadn't yet read many of the books..

William had found a title he rather fancied hidden in the many shelves, taking it upon himself to read it, glancing at the clock every now and then. 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00...He was starting to get worried now. It shouldn't take that long..

Finally, at precisely 2:14 in the morning, as William was getting up to go after the party, he saw the door to the manor open from his perch atop the stairs. He tilted his head, running down when Souris's shaking, bloody frame stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. Only him.. "Souris.." William watched as the man's head slowly turned to face him, a terrified and horrified expression on his face that tugged at William's heartstrings. "What happened..why are you alone?"

The reaper was caught very off-guard when the butler flung itself at him. Cradling him carefully and trying to mask the fact that the smaller man had nearly mowed the two of them to the ground, William stroked the slightly blood-matted chocolate brown hair. "..M-M-Madam..And G-Grell.." William finally heard the soft whimper, hearing the familiar shakiness that indicated tears were flowing freely from his eyes. "T-They..There...T-There was..a d-demon..G-Grell..Grell managed to fight it off but...B-But he killed Madam first..and..I ran..But..I..he got Grell..."

William couldn't believe what he was hearing, would have refused to believe it was the man shaking his arms not so obviously terrified and broken. "..I..Shh. It's alright. You're alright..He won't hurt you. I'm here." It was all William could really manage to say at the moment, even if he knew it was incredibly cheesy and generic. Still, Souris seemed to calm down quite a bit at this. Leaning up, his still trembling lips pressed themselves against William's, though William felt a different intent behind this one. Souris didn't want soft and gentle kisses and caresses- he wanted something different entirely, and William was willing to give it to him if it would help ease the younger man's mind.

"W-Will.." The butler whispered against the reaper's lips, obviously still a bit scared, but trying to be confident. "..Will..Promise me you won't leave..Promise..it'll only be me." Souris took a deep breath before sighing out, speaking with the confidence William had heard when talking to his madam about the homicides. "..I don't just want you to speak it. I want..a promise of the flesh, shall we say.."

William knew his answer before he could even fully comprehend the weight of his words. "Yes." He whispered against the younger man's lips. "Yes, come here.."

Souris didn't need to be told twice. Lunging toward the older man again, his tongue immediately dove out to find William's, and William found his newfound confidence to be alarming but totally justified. Parting his lips to let the butler do what he liked to soothe his deranged mental state, William was floating straight to cloud nine. Souris was an incredibly good kisser- the way his tongue wrapped around William's as he licked and sucked and tasted and explored...Before he could comprehend what he was doing, William had left out a soft moan, his hands reaching up to run through the soft, chocolatey brown locks. Souris pulled back momentarily to let him breathe, instead moving down and licking down William's jaw, and despite himself, William found himself utterly enjoying the sight before him. Souris, confident and lustful, his lovely, blushing face visible and his eyes brightened by the blood splatters on his face..Though William normally would have been revolted by the blood, he found it to be incredibly attractive on his little butler.

That was, until he pulled out the ribbon holding the younger's hair back, and noticed something very disturbing.

His bangs, as they fell around his face, shaped it..

His eyes seemed a little brighter..

His expression looked a little more familiar..

The way he moved his body gently..

And the blood adorning his face..

It all reminded him incredibly of...

"GRELL SUTCLIFF!" William shouted accusingly as he instinctively shoved the reaper back, glaring daggers at him. Grell's eyes widened considerably as they stared back at William. He was, once again, shaking violently, tears forming in his eyes. William noticed with a faint pang of guilt that in Grell's wide, terrified eyes, was nothing but raw fear and sadness with a hint of dread. It didn't soothe William's anger, only intensified it.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" He roared, ignoring Grell's shrinking back. "WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

Grell could only whimper weakly in response, curling into a ball under the intense, fiery glare. William had been mad at him, but never like this..William looked like he was prepared to eat him alive, and not in a pleasant manner. Did he really hate him so much that the idea of loving each other made him do this? It wouldn't be a shocker..and after he'd had to do such a thing to her, as well..he couldn't take William throwing him away like he'd had to her..but..

He was brought out of his shocked, depressed thoughts as William grabbed his hair and yanked up roughly, forcing Grell to his feet. Still giving him a revolted look, William continued to speak angrily, though it was no longer a shout. "Why, Sutcliff. Why. I thought I had fallen in love, but he was just another one of your tricks! Why must you always screw me over, even in matters as personal as whom I love! I wasn't going to report this to the higher-ups, but you deserve it!" Grell cringed at this, tears spilling freely over his cheeks. Staring helplessly up at the man who held him captive in an iron grip, Grell could only give him a look pleading no longer for forgiveness, but just a shred of mercy.

Unfortunately, William had none to give. Before Grell could comprehend what was happening, he felt himself falling, a stinging pain burning through his cheek. He only laid limply there in misery, not particularly because of the pain, but the emotional turmoil that seemed to be ripping apart his insides. William still bore into him with his acidic eyes, chilling him to the bone.

"You disgust me." Was all that William spat at him before turning and leaving Grell alone, utterly unaware just how badly he'd broken the man that only wanted to call him a lover.

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(I'm going to admit my wimpiness now, I had tears in my eyes by the end of writing this. I have a massive soft spot for Grell. ;^; )  
There is an explanation as to why William was such a raging buttface and what Grell had been planning later in the story, I promise. And I tried to write a passionate kiss while keeping things under the T rating. Quite hard to do when all you've read recently are M-rated stories. =/= I hope the small moment of passion is satisfactory, though. _(Fun fact! I had actually intended for that to go into an all-out lemon before William thought to let Grell's hair down and discover him, but I wanted to keep this story rated T, and therefore my reasoning is this: It would not have worked out had this been a lemon, as William would have been far too aroused to care who the hell he was at the point I had been planning on. :D)  
_**As you can see, the story has taken quite a turn now. As always, your favorites/follows and reviews are massively appreciated! **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language, Slight Blood and Gore, Suicidal Implications, maybe a bit of OOC-ness depending on how you view William.

=====================================================================================  
Grell laid there well into the morning, seemingly frozen in place. The erratic, though gentle, movement of his chest indicated that he was still very much alive, even though he didn't feel it at all. He'd turned over to face his head to the ground, hiding his sobs from the cold night air. Tears streamed down his face until there were none left, and he was only able to lie there limply and attempt to think, though his mind seemed to be going a mile and a minute and at a snail's pace at the same time, and only one thought broke through every second.

William hates me.

I revolt him.

William T. Spears despises me.

After several hours, Grell stood to let out a frustrated yell. He was incredibly thankful for it, as it blocked out his thoughts and shielded him from himself for several moments, but it hardly lasted a few seconds before the weak man ran out of breath. Chewing on his bottom lip, the reaper slowly made his way to the kitchen, grabbing several bottles of alcohol quickly before rushing his way to the bathroom.

He knew what he wanted to do.

He had to save himself from his thoughts. From the agony.

And there was only one way to do it.

William had gone back to work the next day; why shouldn't he? Jack the Ripper was done with. He could finally go back to his regular workload, and, though it wasn't particularly any better than that paperwork, William almost looked forward to it. Besides, Sutcliff should have been coming back that day too, as he had no reason not to. So, William had went back to work as usual that day, having no particular regrets for the past few days, aside from being tricked by the redhead..

Until there was an uproar from the lobby. Getting up immediately to go see what it was and stop whatever fight and/or riot that was about to occur, William was probably even more shocked and horrified to see the sight that showed itself on the floor below, gripping the railings tightly to keep his balance. With a blanched face and a small grimace, William looked on.

The only figure he could recognize was Ronald Knox, surrounded on all sides, but with distance between them, by the workers of the dispatch. He was incredibly bloody, the red liquid dripping from his pants, suit jacket, hands, staining his previously pristine white shoes..

Something was wrong, Ronald would not let that happen to his favorite Oxfords.

The way Ronald's arms were held, he could tell that Ronald was holding someone, though William didn't immediately recognize them. Brunette hair, black socks, black dress pants..From the back, he doubted anybody could recognize them. He watched as Ronald turned to face half the crowd, obviously looking as horrible as William had imagined. "..It's not..my blood.." Was all Ronald could say, glancing back down at the figure in his arms. With a confused look now crossing his features, William continued merely to watch. He'd assigned Knox to investigate into the Jack the Ripper case...He hadn't brought one of the victims back, had he?

As Ronald turned, William learned just how very wrong he was, and he was incredibly glad that his horrified, breathless gasp was drowned out by one of the worker's desperate shouts. "Get that fucker to the infirmary, man!" Correcting his worker on his language was long gone from William's mind. His face scrunched up with emotion before he could help it, and he had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide the horrible shaking of his gritted teeth as tears began to pour forth, as though all of his emotions had been forced right out of him through the waterworks. Turning to follow the wide-eyed, equally as horrified Ronald to the infirmary, William knew that while the Ripper was done for, there was a much bigger problem ahead of him.

For the one in Ronald's arms was none other than Grell Sutcliff, white as a sheet and eyes closed, his round glasses shattered. His dark hair had tangled and added more of a deathly look to him, and he was covered in the same shade of blood as Ronald- the shade of red he do adored, pouring fourth sluggishly from a long, ragged cut that marred his thin torso, mirrored in the opposite direction to form an X.

_As if he'd been trying to mark himself out.._ William could only think, praying that he hadn't managed it.

*wipes eyes* That chapter was incredibly difficult to write out, I kept getting emotional again. I think I had to pause and think happy thoughts roughly five times while writing this little drabble. But I kept pushing through! I had to use mood music: "Sense" by Tom Odell is a wonderful song even though it's very sad. I was playing it on repeat while writing out Grell's bit of this chapter. I couldn't go into too much detail as to his thoughts, as I doubted he was having much of any at the point he was at and found it very difficult to write out, but that song pretty much describes how he was feeling. Especially the line "If I fell in love a thousand times, would it all make sense?" Yeah, that line got me every time.

Also, since I know there will be several of you going "WHY WAS WILLIAM CRYING. WILLIAM T. SPEARS AIN'T NO WIMP." Well, no, he isn't. He also isn't heartless, though. I do believe he'd succumb very easily and very drastically to guilt when it comes to non-work-related matters – ESPECIALLY something like this- so that plus the shock of it all caused him to have some waterworks.

**As always, rates and reviews are massively appreciated!** The only way you'll find out if our poor Grell is okay or not is if you keep encouraging me to write! ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Language

William hadn't made it back to his room that night. He'd made himself go back to his office once confirming that Grell was carried safely to the infirmary. He had wanted to stay, to know that he was alive and had started recovering, but the medical team had immediately stopped any new patients (unless you were fatally ill or injured) and visitors when they saw the state of Grell so that they could tend to him. So, after much inward debate, William had decided it best to trust the doctors to do their job and carry on with his own. That was all that he could do to help, really.

Still, despite dragging himself through the hellish paperwork, William knew his mind was anywhere but work. It was that normally annoying redheaded reaper that completely and entirely filled his mind. Images of what he had been only four weeks ago kept appearing, immediately shadowed by the last William had seen him. Up, healthy, happy, flirty, and flamboyant had turned to ill, depressed, dark, and possibly headed for death.

And the worst part of it all was that William knew the greatest possibility was that it was entirely his fault.

The guilt he felt was unbearable. William knew clearly he had been cruel to Grell, he'd just brushed it off as being totally appropriate as a response to the redhead's totally inappropriate behavior during work. He had called the man an annoying nuisance twenty times too many, not thinking anything of it..until it had come to this. Grell was suicidal, that much was rather obvious by the way the cuts appeared; the blade of the insane man's scythe was the only one William had seen that caused ragged marks like that. It was all William's fault that the man was desperate enough to end it all that he had taken matters into his own hands.

Sighing sadly, William closed the last file of the day and set it aside, rising from his seat again. He had to go see if he could sit with the redhead..He had to see Grell again before he could even begin to push aside the guilt and figure out his feelings on the subject.

So, William headed straight for the medical ward after turning in his work, testing the door carefully. The door gave way immediately, opening up to a silent, almost empty infirmary, with only one patient and a nurse to tend to him. The nurse gave him a curious look, and William simply kept his gaze on Grell, asking with no clear emotion in his voice. "..Is he alright to have visitors?"

"Yes sir.." The nurse answered, watching him, knowing his silent question without asking. "..They were self-inflicted, yes..He can't move much until the cuts heal, and.. if he wakes, please be careful with him. Call for me if I'm needed." William gave her a nod of thanks and watched her leave the room before walking over and sitting next to Grell. His hair had changed back to its vibrant red, falling around his face elegantly, as the doctors had washed it to get the blood out. Though no longer so visibly marred, his skin was still a shade too pale, his face looking far too serene for the situation he was in. The sight made William sigh heavily as he pulled over an average wooden chair, sitting down heavily next to the infirmary bed.

"Grell..." William whispered to the man lying still next to him, taking a smaller, freezing cold hand in his own. He knew entirely how difficult it would be to speak these next words aloud, but they were necessary. "..I promise...I won't...I won't be cruel to you again...just..." He sighed, reaching up another hand to carefully stroke his hair with a thought: Grell would squeal ridiculously if he knew William was doing this. The thought made the brunette smile even if he was already fighting back tears once again, and imagining Grell happy encouraged him to continue on with his soft-spoken request. "..Just please don't leave me."

His wish now spoken, even though it was technically to the empty air, William felt an immense weight lifted from his shoulders. Though he knew that guilt would never truly go away, and it was still quite heavy on his heart as he hadn't been able to give a sincere apology, it was leaps and bounds better than before. Leaning his head forward with a soft sigh, William found himself drifting off to sleep, pleasant dreams easing him of the stress from that day if only for a few hours.

That was a lot of fun to edit, actually. I love writing about William's emotions, even if they're tricky to place sometimes. I'm starting to catch up to where I've left off writing the chapters, and the end of the school year is coming up. Unfortunately, I've been slammed with three different projects and exams on top of planning for the next school year, so my updates might become a little more spaced out than usual! But this story will NOT be going on a hiatus. This will probably be finished by mid-May at the latest, though that depends on how my ideas for the coming chapters develop. Just don't hurt me if I don't update within a couple of days all the time. ;w;

**As always, rate and review! My main driving point for editing this chapter to such an extent was an incredible review that encouraged me to do better in my writing. (Thank you Jillian! 3)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
Series: Kuroshitsuji  
Pairing: William x Grell  
Rated: T  
Warnings: Language

Grell had awoken from his slumber before William, blinking several times and shifting to try to understand his surroundings. He could feel that he was lying on his back on top of something incredibly soft, and all he could see was white. White ceiling, white walls, white lights..

_..Heaven?_

_Oh, hell no..._

Grell gritted his teeth, letting out a small groan as he carefully craned his neck to look to either side of himself. To his left, he saw more beds, simple and sanitary, lined against the wall. He could recognize several sinks and medical supplies spread throughout the room by the glint of silver, and moments later he realized, with a pang of confusion, that he was in an infirmary. But he'd been alone when he'd fallen unconscious...Alone in that now-abandoned manor, how could be in an infirmary now?

Laying his head back for several moments to try to consider it, Grell instead looked to his right, and what he saw surprised him incredibly. Though his vision was limited by the lack of his glasses, there was a mass of dark colors in the center of the same white from his other side. Blotches of black blended up into a pale color, then grey and a dark brown, and, almost too quickly, Grell realized who this figure was.

"William.." was all he could manage in a weak whisper, both glad and terrified by the realization. William was there..And while Grell knew he likely wouldn't get yelled at in his current state, it also mortified him to know that William was fully aware of what he'd done to himself, and still stayed here with him. Possibly to question him..But the thought of talking to him, no matter whether it was professional or personal, absolutely terrified Grell. What the hell was he supposed to say to the man whose harsh actions had encouraged him to try to dispose of himself, but, whom he also loved wholeheartedly? Tears started streaming down the redhead's face before he could do anything to will them away, and all he could manage to do was try to make the crying as soundless and painless as possible.

After several long minutes of trying and failing to calm himself down, Grell felt something press against the back of his head, moving through his hair. Looking through the hands he'd brought up to hide himself, Grell saw the blurry image of William once again, though his bright yellow-green eyes were now present. He was now leaning over Grell, and the redhead let out another soft sob as he realized that William was running a hand through his hair to try to comfort him, laying his head back into the hand.

William stared at him for a moment before his voice rang through the previously silent air, and Grell was shocked to hear tones of worry and sympathy laced into the sound. "..Good morning...You're alright..."

Grell attempted to swallow the new lump of emotion in his throat, slowly moving his hands from his face. His right hand held itself out, seeking for William's, as his left hand reached up to find the one moving its way through his hair. William met both of his hands with his own, one of them briefly leaving to carefully place Grell's glasses on his face.

"Thank you..." Grell managed weakly, gazing up at the now very clear image of William. He noticed his hair was a bit ruffled, and that his eyes conveyed the concern that was just as obvious in his voice. That wasn't what Grell had been expecting, and it shocked him. Though, before he could help it, Grell's imagination gave him an image of a smiling, loving William pulling him to his feet and loving all of his morbid thoughts away, and a smile found its way onto the redhead's face before he was aware of it.

As for William, however, that smile stabbed at his heart anew. This wasn't the wide grin or seductive smirk Grell usually wore, or even the mirthful giggle that usually came with his playful smile which William only saw when the redhead was around Ronald or Alan and Eric. This smile was incredibly small and subtle, and it contained none of the energy Grell usually had. It was weak but happy - the smile of someone who was at death's door, and knew it. The last smile someone would give.

The thought sprang unbidden tears to William's eyes, and he found himself turning away with a small mumble to try to pretend that they weren't there, shielding his eyes from view. He heard a minuscule, confused noise from Grell, followed by a hand carefully placing itself upon his knee. William let his tears spill once Grell spoke, that soft, hoarse voice trying to speak its last words and still using them to comfort William. "Shh...William...I'm right here. I'm...stronger..." He could feel Grell's gaze move up to his eyes. "..I'm not going anywhere..."

William sighed softly, forcing himself to think of anything but Grell to calm his emotions down. When he was significantly calm, he turned back to Grell, gazing at his eyes a moment. Placing his own hand over Grell's, he gave a somewhat gentle gaze to the redhead. "..Do you need anything?"

Grell nodded a moment, giving William an entirely innocent look, and William's mind, which he now decided lived to screw him over for the past week, reminded him carefully. _That's just what Souris used to look like... _William was brought out of his half-nostalgic, half-guilt ridden thoughts by Grell's answer. "..A glass of water, please? And...um.." A rosy blush dusted over his cheeks, and William began to wonder. _Was he trying to act more like Souris to appeal to him?_ "..you. Could you..please stay...?" ..Now this was starting to get strange. William knew it would be entirely inappropriate to start bombarding the injured man with questions, so he decided to make a mental note to ask him about the odd shifting of his personality when he was more comfortable.

Nodding to him, William lightly squeezed the smaller hand still gripped in his own. "I'll be right back." He headed towards the door, looking back to Grell and noticing the slightly disappointed look on his pale face. "..Humphries, Knox, and Slingby have split up my work between themselves for the next few days. I will be staying here with you, to cater to your needs..." He couldn't help a smile as he saw the redhead's face glow ever so slightly with happiness. While both of them knew they were being extremely careful around the sensitive other, William found himself extremely grateful that Grell's normal personality and fondness were still showing through despite his illness. He could honestly say that he felt that even if those scars marred him physically and emotionally for eternity and nothing went further between either of them, he was glad that Grell still hadn't completely stopped living, per se. He was still Grell...Just toned down quite a lot.

And William found that that was exactly, exactly what he had loved in Souris.

And there's the last of the pre-written chapters! I am about halfway done with 10 as I write this, so it will hopefully not be too terribly long a wait. I'm excited to write these next few, and develop more of this relationship. Someone did mention that if William truly despised Grell, he shouldn't suddenly get all fluffy around him, and, frankly, he really shouldn't, and isn't going to remain that way. However, I do still believe he's in shock over the whole thing, and if there's one thing I hate people doing with William T. Spears, it's make him totally heartless _just because it's Grell _(Even if I had to temporarily do the same thing for this story.) Right now, regardless of who it is, William is in the mindset of "Holy shit I almost inadvertently killed someone" and is therefore trying to make up for it in his shocked state. He isn't turning into a huge cuddly teddy bear any time soon, he's just going to act nicer to Grell until he's healed up. It's just what I think anyone, regardless of past hatred or not, would react like.

Might I also say, I love writing Grell when he's sassy. I do think that even when he's about to die, he would take the time to be like "No, you BETTER not send me to Heaven. Uh-uh, angels don't work with this lady." XD

_Prepare yourselves, fluff is coming._

**As always, rate and review! I'm gonna need it as I push myself to write whilst working on schoolwork. OTL**


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